The city government of Baguio, being a Unesco-designated Creative City for Crafts and Folk Arts, declared the whole month of March 2022 as Montañosa Film Festival (MFF) celebration.
Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong issued Executive Order 10, s. 2022 declaring March 1 to 30, 2022 as MFF, the first ever independent film festival for the Cordillerans in Baguio City.
This year’s MFF will carry the theme, “Mindset Change for Climate Change.”
Pre-event activities started August last year up to February this year with event coordination, call for entries, promotions and marketing, selection and awarding of grants, and a filmmaker’s boot camp.
Production of films in competition during the period will be ready for presentation during the festival.
Activities lined up for the month are workshops on film appreciation, acting for film, story development and scriptwriting, cinematography, directing, production design, lights and sounds, production management, pitching, as well as release and distribution.
A Film Camp and Filmmakers’ Forum is yet to be scheduled, including a movie caravan particularly drive-in cinema, pop-up cinema, movies at the lake, horror movies, plus a Sagada and Ifugao film camp.
Film screening of the competing entries will also be done in March. Categories are narrative (10 to 12 minutes), documentary (10 to 12 minutes), and mobile phone short (three to five minutes).
Other films to look forward to are Cine Luzviminda – Philippine regional films, Cine Montañosa – films from the Cordillera, and experimental films. There will also be international films to be shown from Southeast Asian regional short films and the European film section.
A music and food fair is included in the list of activities before the closing and awards night. – Jessa P. Samidan
April 26, 2024
